Caretaker
by pmf superfan
Summary: Naruto gets into Anbu! But that's when his real problems start. Who would put Naruto in charge of a kid? SasuXnaruXsasu later on. Review! This story needs a few chapters to get started,so be patient.
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys! So I was just bored and decided to whip this out for yeah. I'm not sure if it's worth continuing, so I thought I'd post it before I put too much time into it. I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 1

Good news

A beam of sunlight cut through a gap in the curtains, landing on a slightly snoring heap of blankets in the middle of a queen-sized bed. A groan and a few curses later, a messy blond head poked out of the heap, glaring at the sunlight through sleepy eyes. Naruto ran a hand through his spiky blond mane and yawned. After a moment of contentedly scratching his belly, he kicked the blankets off.

He hissed as his bare feet touched the cold floor, then stood up and stretched like a cat, yawning again. He sighed then made his way out of his tiny bedroom, toward the kitchen. He opened the fridge and poured himself a glass of orange juice before kicking the fridge closed and going over to the counter. The door bell rang and he drained the glass and put it in the sink. He walked over to the door, looked through the peep hole and saw the masked face of his old mentor, Kakashi. He unlocked the door and opened it with a wide grin on his face.

"Hello sensei! Long time no see. Whatcha up to?" he asked, leading Kakashi into the kitchen. "Want some water or something?"

"No, thank you," Kakashi said in his bored tone, sliding into a chair at the table. "You do know you're in your underwear, right?"

"Shit!" Naruto shouted, scrambling back to his room to change. Kakashi just chuckled at his old student and slouched down into the chair. He hadn't seen Naruto in almost ten years, since the day Sasuke left. It had been hard on Naruto, to lose a friend he had grown so close to.

Naruto walked back into the room in lose fitting jeans held up by a black studded belt, and a tight fitting white tank top. "So, what did you need to talk to me about?" he asked, sitting in the chair across the table from Kakashi.

"I have good news," Kakashi said, smiling under his mask. "I'm sure you've heard about last night's raid?"

Naruto nodded. Kiba had called him last night, wondering if he could see it from his apartment. "Yeah, I guess it was a bad one. I didn't get called in, so I assumed Anbu had it under control. Why? What does that have to do with me?"

"Well, Orochimaru's confidence is building and we need all the ninja we can get to hold him off, so…" Kakashi pulled a bundle out from behind his back. He carefully unfolded a black cloak, revealing a white Anbu mask. "Welcome to Anbu, Fox."

Naruto was in shock. He slowly leaned forward and grabbed the mask. He gently ran his fingers over the red whisker marks on the cheeks, thinking things over. Being a member of Anbu had been a dream of his for years, and now it was happening! He was snapped out of his daze by Kakashi slowly standing up.

"Be in the Hokage's office first thing in the morning for your first assignment. And Naruto…"

"Huh?" Naruto grunted, still in shock.

"Congratulations. You deserve it," and with that, Kakashi let himself out, closing the door behind him with a click.

Naruto just sat in his chair, staring at the mask in his hands. After a few minutes, ha slowly stood up from his chair, a smile making its way to his face. His smile widened until it almost split his face in two, and a single tear of joy fell from his cerulean eyes, splashing on the fox mask.

A/N: Well… how was it? Please review!!!


	2. Chapter 2

Ok, so this story needed more than that little intro I gave it, so this is like the intro part 2. Anyway, I kind of like this story, so I hope you do too! Also, the character, Cadence, is just someone I made up. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 2

Cadence

Rain drops fell harmlessly off Naruto's thick Anbu cloak as he made his way to the Hokage's office early the next morning. He jumped from rooftop to rooftop, careful not to slip, and thought about how his life had turned out. He spent the first half of his life hated by most, if not all, of the village. He was assigned to a team with a perverted sensei. He befriended an arrogant Uchiha, only to have him leave him to join the enemy, Orochimaru. He spent a few long months in a debilitating depression, then slowly recovered, moving on and getting an apartment towards the edge of the village. Now, after all he had been put through, he was finally getting some recognition!

Naruto came to an abrupt stop on the roof across the street from the Hokage's office. Usually he would just pop in through Grandma Tsunade's window, but this was a special occasion. He jumped off the roof and landed lightly on the ground below. He straightened his new cloak and secured his mask to his face. After a few steadying breaths, he walked through the front door. He made his way to Tsunade's office and knocked lightly.

"Come in," Tsunade said with a sigh. "Oh, Naruto, good to see," she said when she saw who it was. She pulled the sake bottle out from under the table and poured herself a glass before offering one to Naruto.

Naruto gave a half bow and took the glass, sliding into the chair in front of Tsunade's desk. He removed his fox mask to drain the glass, then looked up into Tsunade's eyes. "Sooo… what mission do you have for me, Baa-chan?" he asked, slouching down into a more comfortable position.

"Brat…" she mumbled, pouring herself another glass. "First, I'd like to congratulate you on your promotion!" she said, downing her glass in one gulp. "And I have a very important mission for you."

Naruto's face lit up at the idea of an Anbu-ranked mission. "What is it? Do you need me to assassinate someone? Maybe you need me to infiltrate an enemy base, disguised as a servant, and pump someone for information! Maybe…"

Tsunade waved her hands to stop Naruto's mini-rant. She rubbed her temples, mumbled something about a migraine, and closed her eyes. "No, no, nothing like that. Geez, brat, you've only been an Anbu member for a few hours! No, I have something more important for you to do."

She bit her bottom lip and scrunched up her forehead for a second. "Actually, I need you to do me a favor."

Naruto gave a confused look. "What do you need me to do?" he asked again.

"Geez, kid, you sound like a broken record! Anyway, here's the deal. Last night's raid was intense. We lost three Anbu members, and a dozen or so citizens. It was Orochimaru's worst attack yet. In the attack, an Academy student lost both his parents. His father was one of the Anbu that was killed, and his mom died protecting him. Needless to say, the kid's freaked. I need you to watch him for me."

Naruto stared for a minute, shocked again. It seemed like that was happening to him a lot lately. "You want me to… babysit some kid!?!" he shouted. "But why?"

"Because, brat, Orochimaru wants this kid dead! He lost his entire family in the raid. He has no one, and the most powerful man in existence wants to kill him. I thought, out of everyone, you'd be the one to understand what this kid is going through. So stop being a baby and go get him. He's waiting for you in the lobby," she said, going back to the paperwork on her desk, clearly dismissing Naruto.

Naruto stood up, slipped his mask back onto his face, and stomped out of the office. He was Anbu now! Babysitting was beneath him! Why couldn't she have assigned someone else to the brat!

As Naruto neared the lobby, he calmed himself down with a few deep breaths. He rounded the corner and spotted the kid leaning up against the wall. He looked to be about 9 or 10, with jet black hair and electric blue eyes. He was slim, almost sickly. Naruto sighed. _It could be worse, _he thought as he walked over to the kid,

The truth was Naruto really did know what the kid was going through. He was hated, people wanted him dead, and none of it was his fault. Naruto felt bad for the kid. He walked up to him and said, "Hey, what's your name, kid?"

"Cadence," came the shy reply from the boy.

"Well, Cadence, my name's Naruto, and your going to be living with me for a while, cool?" he asked, slipping his hood off and removing his mask.

"… Okay," Cadence replied, still shy. He kicked off the wall and started to walk towards the door, stopping and waiting for Naruto.

Naruto sighed, turned, and walked out the door, Cadence right beside him. As they walked, Naruto looked over at Cadence. The boy was staring at his feet, a dull look in his eyes. Naruto had a sudden flashback to his days in the Academy. He had failed the test again, and was sitting on the swing, listening to mean people talk about him like a monster. He had the same look in his eyes then as Cadence did now.

Naruto cleared his throat. "So, Cadence, how old are you?" he asked, his tone light and friendly. He let a small smile slip onto his face.

"Umm… I'm 8, but I'll be 9 in a few days," he answered, a little less shy now that it was just the two of them and he knew who Naruto was.

"Cool, cool…" he said, letting the conversation slip back into silence. _Wow, he's young, _he thought. As they got closer to his apartment, Naruto realized something. _I don't have a place for the kid to sleep, or clothes for him to wear. Stupid Baa-chan, springing this on my so suddenly. And my apartment's a mess, too._ He thought. Luckily, he had just gone shopping the day before, so at least they had food for the next day or two.

When they got to the apartment building, Naruto took his key out of a pocket in his cloak and slid it into the lock. He opened the door and let Cadence in first before walking in and closing the door. He locked it and headed for the kitchen.

"Can I get you something to drink? I have juice," he said, getting out a couple of glasses.

"Juice sounds good, thanks," Cadence answered politely.

"We need to go to your apartment tomorrow and pick up some stuff, ok?" Naruto asked, pouring them both a glass of orange juice. Cadence just nodded in reply. "I have some old clothes that'll fit you tonight, for pajamas, and an extra toothbrush, too." Naruto said, trying to start a conversation with the kid again. Cadence just nodded again and looked around a little. Naruto handed him his glass and put the juice back in the fridge. "So, how about a tour?"

He walked out of the kitchen, towards the door. "Well, that was the kitchen, this is the living room," he said pointing to the little room with a sofa and TV in it. He walked through the living room. "This hallway leads to the bedroom and bathroom. The bedroom is on the left and the bathroom is on the right. If you get confused, the bathroom's the one with a toilet," he joked, smiling his gorgeous smile at Cadence.

The boy looked at Naruto and let a small smile slide onto his face. "I'm really tired…" he said, blushing slightly.

"Oh, right, well… I don't really have a place for you to sleep. My apartment is kind of small. Hmmm…" he thought. "How about you sleep in my bed for now? I can go change the sheets real quickly and it's a really comfortable bed. Plus, I don't snore or anything and it's too big for me anyway! Come on, it'll be fun! Like a big sleepover," Naruto said, smiling again. Something about the kid just made him want to cheer him up.

"I've never had a sleepover before," Cadence replied, a little less shy than before. Naruto could tell he was a little excited by the idea.

"Then it's a plan!" Naruto shouted, running to go change the sheets. Once the bed had been made, Naruto dug through his closet. He pulled out a dark blue t-shirt, but couldn't find any pants that would fit the slim boy. _He can just wear it as a night gown then. It'll be big enough for that, _he thought.

Naruto walked out of his room and smiled at Cadence. "I found a shirt for you to wear, but none of my pants will fit you. We can pick some up tomorrow," he said, handing the boy the shirt. "You can change in the bathroom; I'll use the one in the bedroom. The extra toothbrush is in the cupboard."

Cadence nodded, gave Naruto a small smile, then went into the bathroom and closed the door behind him.

Naruto made his way to his bathroom. He stripped the cloak off, pulling his shirt off with it. Next, he slid his pants down his golden thighs. He brushed his teeth and headed out to his bedroom in nothing but his boxers. He opened his closet and pulled out a white wife-beater tank top and slipped it on over his messy blond hair.

After a minute or two, Cadence walked into the room in Naruto's old shirt. _It wasn't as long as I thought it'd be, _Naruto thought, blushing a light pink color. The shirt was baggy on Cadence, but stopped at just below his waist. He didn't seem to care though, so Naruto controlled his blush and climbed into bed. Cadence hopped over and bounced into bed, a big smile on his face now.

"What's got you so excited?" Naruto asked, smiling.

"It's my fist sleepover!" Cadence squeaked, letting his excitement get the best of him. He rolled around on Naruto's bed, his shirt riding up even more. He didn't seem to care that he wasn't wearing any pants, and that his shirt was riding up.

Naruto couldn't help but admire the boy's body. He was slim, but was well defined for an 8 year old. He seemed to have a lot of self-confidence too.

Cadence looked at Naruto for a second or two, a crazy look in his eyes, then pounced, landing right of Naruto's chest. "Thanks for taking care of me, Naruto," he said, then gave Naruto a light kiss on the cheek before rolling off of him and giggling.

"Umm… no problem, buddy," Naruto said, shocked for what seemed like the hundredth time that week. Naruto looked over at Cadence and was surprised to see the little boy already asleep in the middle of the bed. Naruto got up and turned the light out before walking back to his bed and lying down next to Cadence. _I could get used to this kid, _Naruto thought as he drifted off to sleep.

A/N: Aww… Cadence is so cute! Anyway, please review! Tell me what you think of it so far. Oh, and this is the longest chapter I've ever done! Cool, huh?


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